Part III:A Mining Outpost Rises
23rd of Slate, 371“Now then, this is where we shall start,” Ral said as she looked at the bare slope of fine-grained, light grey stone. “Edëm, you are to start quarrying the stone and turn it into blocks for building. Tulon, you go and take a closer look at what vegetables these bamboo-laden forests have to offer.”
She turned to look at the group and directed her gaze at the jaguar man, “And you, Rith, you will fell those trees over there.” She pointed at the tall, thick trunked trees, which grew a-plenty in the Forest of Constructing.
“Which ones should I choose?”, Rith asked Ral, not sure what trees the dwarf meant.
“All of them,” Ral answered, making a wide sweeping gesture from left to right, “Cut them all down. We will be needing plenty of lumber. These trees will finally be put to good use.”
By the time night fell upon them, Edëm, with the help and supervision of Ral, had managed to carve out quite a sizeable quarry. Some of the rhyolite stone had been cut into blocks, ready for building work. Rith had felled many a mighty tree and there was plenty of timber to be used for a variety of purposes.
And Tulon, well, she had not found much to eat in the thicket -- it was still mid-spring, after all. But come summer and autumn, the wild plants would provide an abundance of berry, bean and grain.
Ral, sitting at the fire, was still a bit grumpy from her altercation with Edëm, but the worst of her anger from earlier in the day had subsided. Working at the quarry and cutting the stone had made her satisfied and put her mind at ease.
“Our first task in the morning will be getting a roof over our heads,” she addressed her underlings, “Fortunately Ôsed has granted us mostly with fair weather this far. But what is certain is that such fortune will not last. Eventually we will face rain and cold and all the worst the Rabbit has to offer from the skies above.”
“Aye,” Edëm replied, “I would prefer a good, well-carved hole in the rock of the mountain. At least there the Silvery Mines keeps the mischievious Long-Ears in check. But any walls and roof will make me satisfied, as long as we can be sheltered from her whimsical nature.”
“So true, so true,” Tulon nodded in agreement as she nibbled on a leaf of red spinach she had foraged, “I heard from some merchants who had been to that Waterlures place that the queer folk there are particularly fond of the Rabbit. That they worship not proper gods like Likot. Nor the Silvery Mines.”
“Indeed,” Ral turned her attention to Tulon, “It is as if they have forgotten where they come from and who lifted them up from their wild, savage state of constant struggle, gave them civilization with all its benefits and wonders, and last, but not least, gave their existence a purpose.”
The others murmured in agreement.
“And what did they do in return?”, Ral's tone turned sour, “They used the good will of King Sĺkzul for their own gain! All the promises of building a new settlement for the glory of Ustuth Ďdath were but empty words. Trickery. Lies. Deceit.”
“Aye,” Edëm replied. He too was beginning to fume over the subject, “It is something one would expect from those who hold the Rabbit so close to their black hearts!”
24th of Slate, 371By the end of the following day more trees had been felled, Edëm and Ral had carved more blocks from the quarried rhyolite, and the foundations of the ground floor of their main building had been laid.
Ral was feeling good and satisfied at the progress she and her underlings had made. Within a few days, or perhaps a week or longer, they would spend their evenings and nights in a proper, dwarf-built structure made of stone and timber.
Work hadn't gone without problems, however.
The forests of these lands were teeming with savage creatures: giant cardinals, giant coati and lurking in the waters of Swayedcrypt were alligators, as had been noticed but moments ago when one such being had attacked Edëm near the river bank.
Fortunately the follower of the Old Ways was swift with pick and good in keeping his wits in face of danger: the alligator had soon found out it had chosen its prey poorly, and paid with its life for such a mistake.
“You know,” Edëm began after finishing chewing on a piece of particularly tough alligator meat, “What I'd really need is a large tankard of good dwarven ale to wash down the taste of this one. And the dust of the day. I feel like it's hard to keep good focus without a slight buzz in the head. Why, within a few days I probably can not even move if I don't get some ale!”
“Oh, come now,” Ral let out a small chuckle, “Surely you exaggerate. I too would love a pint or four, but it'll take more than a few days without that until I won't be able to function at all!”
“Speak for yourself,” Tulon grumbled, “You just had ale this morning from your own stash. And didn't care to share any with us who have been going without for more than a couple days,”
“Well, it was the last of it,” Ral replied, feeling slightly offended, “Besides, it is not my fault you didn't bring any along with you despite me explicitly stating to do so. And if someone here needs to keep their focus, it is me, your head of expedition and foreman.”
Rith stepped away from the bickering dwarves and walked to look to the east.
He had lived for many a year among the dwarves of Ustuth Ďdath, yet he still did not understand their love and need for stronger beverages. When around drunken dwarves, he felt like an outsider. And the drunker the game, the more so he felt. He did enjoy drinking, of course. Why, otherwise it would be unbearable to be around the bearded ones exhaling alcoholic fumes when they opened their mouths, their halls reeking of old, soured wine!
Feeling like an outsider made him uncomfortable. To be frank, he was very jealous of the dwarves and their ways. He wished he could be like one, yet no matter how he tried, he was still seen as but a jaguar man come from the wilds.
4th of Felsite, 371A little over a week passed.
It was a fine, clear morning of late spring as Ral stood in front of the building, her hands on her hips as she eyed the structure.
The walls of the ground floor were made of stone and would house her office as a foreman, a workshop for masonry and a common area, and last, a separate space where Tulon would set up a brewery. For the dwarves very much desired for the refreshing taste of wine and beer.
The rest of the floors were made of wood and would serve as their personal quarters, storage space and what-not.
However, work was not yet done: the doorways needed doors, rooms needed furnishing and the balcony needed railing.
Ral stepped away from the building and walked to the four wooden poles arranged to mark the corners of a rectangle. She pointed to the center of them.
“This is where we will begin digging proper,” she addressed the others were gathered in a tight bunch to listen to her plans, “Once furnishing of our new miners' hall is completed, Edëm will begin to channel a shaft. Straight down into the earth.”
She cleared her throat and gathered her thoughts before continuing, “Rith, you will need to fell more trees. For I expect us to hit damp soil and we must be prepared to seal and support the shaft so no water is discharged into it. Tulon, you can set up your brewery in the meanwhile.”
Ral looked at Tulon who appeared to be in a sour mood this day. No wonder, for her clothes must still be moist and damp from the previous day's rain.
“Also, Tulon,” Ral continued, “Be ready at a moments notice to put your knowledge in the art of engineering to use. If things go awry, we might need pumps to drain the worst of the leakage from the shaft.”
“Let us pray Likot and the Silvery Mines that no such thing happens,” Tulon replied with a dejected look on her face, “I have had enough of this wetness and pumping water up from a straight shaft is no meager undertaking. I should point out that with what we have here, I am ill equipped to build such devices!”
“Well,” Ral dismissed Tulon's complaints, “You better make sure that you
are prepared by the time such pumps might be needed. That is precisely why you were hired for this job. And need I remind you of the contract of servitude you signed?”
Tulon was about to object, but she stayed silent and kept her grievances to herself.
5th of Felsite, 371Work was completed by the time night fell the following day.
Once again, Ral was pleased on their progress. All the foundations and basic necessities for this mining venture were now behind them and work proper could finally begin.
The entries to the ground floor were on the north side, opposite of where the mine shaft was to be dug.
The left side had a office for Ral, who would be the foreman and superintendent of this operation. The right side housed the common area with tables and benches, and a second working place for masonry in case of foul weather.
On the south side, separate from the main space, was Tulon's brewery. Once they had something brewable at hand, they would be quenching their thirst with ale not river water.
The first floor had rooms for Tulon, Rith and Edëm on the right wing, and on the left was a space reserved as a secondary office in case they would nead an accountant at some point.
The second floor had a room for Ral in the left wing. It was more spacious than the others, but that was only proper for Ral was the head of this expedition.
The right wing contained a crafting and carpentry are, with some space reserved for storage.
Finally, the attic: it was spacious and had much room to store equipment and what-not. It could also be used as lodging, if they would receive unexpected visitors and needed to provide shelter.
Tulon fiddled with a masterfully made drinking horn made from the horn of a mountain goat. It was one of her most prized possessions.
“Ĺkumral,” she muttered her thoughts aloud as she looked at the horn.
“I beg your pardon?”, Ral said from next to her.
“Oh nothing,” Tulon raised her eyes to meet Ral's stare, “I just thought that I'd give it a name. Ĺkumral. Catchsilver.”
“But why?”, Rith asked from the opposite side, “Why'd you give a horn from an animal a name? And a name that has nothing to do with it?”
“Oh, on the contrary,” Tulon answered as she put the horn on the table, “This horn will serve me many a drink during our time here. And those drinks will help us stay strong and healthy, to be able to work hard and industriously. And to help us
catch wealth. Hence the name. Catchsilver. Get it?”
“Uh, right,” Rith replied, ever the more confused of the ways of dwarves.
“Well, let's hope the name will bring us good fortune then,” Ral said, “For tomorrow we strike the earth.”
“Aye!”, Edëm bellowed, “Tomorrow we'll be finding riches! Mark my words, the tingling in my beard has been strongest where the shaft will be dug. Tomorrow we'll see the power of the Old Ways!”
=====
Didn't get as far as I hoped today, but we're almost there! I think I'll get this side story done tomorrow or the day after (depending on other so-called "life stuff").
Took some retries at first with advfort since I botched some stuff, but that was more my fault than that of the script. But I finally got a hang of it, and damn, does it add to the adventurer camp experience. (Highly recommend trying it out, but remember to take backups just in case!)
While I was first a bit unsure if this prospecting group would be a good addition and be just another distraction from the "main" things, I think I'm starting to get a better feel for the other denizens of Ustuth Ďdath than just the capies... Who now seem to have quite the differing view on the world and things.
Perhaps their beliefs about Ôsed turn out to be heretical in the end? At least this group of dwarves doesn't appear to think so fondly of the Rabbit in the Sky...
Author
Topic: Waterlures - A Capybara Man Fortress & Adventure [DF 0.47.05] (Read 68539 times)